Information minister talks about media law reform

The
Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Demba Ali Jawo, has
said that his ministry has engaged the Ministry of Justice in a discussion on
the need for media law reform in the country.

The
reform process, he said, has started with a review of all the media laws in the
country.

The
information minister made these statements on Wednesday at the second ordinary
session of the National Assembly in the 2017 legislative year.

Minister
Jawo said as part of the reform process, the minister is receiving help from
certain institutions to organise a workshop for stakeholders to discuss on the
enactment of a Freedom of Information Act.

“We
are also in consultation with other stakeholders such as the Gambia Press Union
so as to get all of them on board,” he said.

Responding
to the question by the member for Serrekunda West as to whether there are plans
by the information ministry to repeal the Newspaper Amendment Bill, the
minister emphasised that at the level of the ministry, they have engaged the
Minister of Justice for media reforms which include the review of all media
laws.

Besides,
Mr Jawo said they have plans for countrywide coverage for both television and
radio.

“Already, we have the digital migration process
which is ongoing; upon completion, the GRTS will cover the whole nation by the
end of 2017. The digital transition migration will also